Last month I turned 37 years old, and I think I needed some time to really figure out what that meant for me. This year has been tumultuous (at best) and it’s been hard to find moments to process most of it. It has recently occurred to me that, like others, we have learned that sometimes you just can’t let yourself process in order to not be overwhelmed with how much it all starts to spiral out of control. After some time, I think I have 37 manifesto of sorts. This year’s birthday hike on Mission Peak. If you haven’t spent a birthday morning on top of a mountain, I highly recommend it. It’s a very literal-meets-figurative experience to start a new year of life. This year has brought lots of heartache, change, death and an overall evaluation of values. In order to understand how I view this year of […]

Prior to taking our Scandinavian vacation, I knew that I wanted to spend some time really getting to know the culture of the places. Of course all the major cities have lots to offer, but escaping into the less traveled areas is a for sure way to get one-on-one and experience a real dose of what the customs and people are really like in a country. On top of that, one of the major things on my list of things that I wanted to do in Scandinavia was go see the Northern Lights. I have seen it once before in Alaska, but I wanted to show my husband, Peabe, and my daughter, Evie, how amazing it looked in person. I once read an article about how climate change may effect the lights and wanted to be sure that they also had that experience in their lifetime. Lastly, I love getting […]

My favorite brother because he’s my ONLY brother, “Bernie”, celebrates his birthday today and I just wanted to put it out there that I’m glad he’s another year older. He’s come out and visited us in California a couple times this year, but we all know it’s pretty difficult to have relationships with people from afar. He’s really such a softie when it comes to Evie. She loves her “Tito Boy” and I hope they can always have their silly connections. Time will tell, I guess.

Happy, happy birthday to my husband, Peabe. I’m not as good as him when writing about our relationship, which is kinda the opposite from having this blog I guess. Some things I just keep closer to my heart, for sure. Just because I don’t mention him too much on here or my social channels, doesn’t mean that he doesn’t mean that he is less important, less admired, or less appreciated. We love him very much.

Starting off my life from 35 has already been an adventure. Breaking into 36 with a crazy hike to the Lost Coast in northern California, I can only hope that bigger and better adventures await. As I start to make my new lists for myself in this next trip around the sun, I know there’s not much moving forward without looking back on the past. That weekend hike with Jenny not only has taught me a lot about pushing myself in my outdoor adventuring life, but also in other aspects of my world. As far as hiking and camping, I am only inspired by this to take on more challenges like this. There are a couple things I had learned, and for all those looking to try the Lost Coast for the first time, I thought I would share it. PACKING Here’s what I brought with me: 65L backpack Bear […]

First off, let me preface this with the part of the Lost Coast Trail that we did was a portion of the southern trail. Most time when people talk about the Lost Coast, they are referring to the northern part, about 25 miles between Mattole and Black Sands Beach in Shelter Cove. The southern trail is about 32 miles, from Shelter Cove to Usal Beach. I passed on the north part because I thought it would be harder to hike. The trail has a lot of sand hiking, long stretches of rocks that roll underfoot, and tides you need to account for in your hike. A lot of times, the tide comes in and leaves hikers stranded on parts of the trail, unable to move forward. I wasn’t sure how my pace would look and don’t have too much experience with tide tables, so I preferred the southern part. The […]

In a previous post about backpacking in Point Reyes, I had mentioned that I had given myself this birthday goal to hike part of the Lost Coast Trail in northern California before the next birthday. I had never gone on that long of a hike before and I don’t really do too much in the backcountry. Maybe it was a way to just literally break free of all the things that weighed me down in my last birthday, and get back to a feeling of independence, self-reliance, and the general untethered-ness that one would like to feel again after having a child and family. Of course I love my family and my life, but that birthday hit me like a ton of bricks, and I was faced with a lot of feelings about turning off my life’s auto-pilot. That year was a turning point for me, and I’m happy to report a […]

Can you believe that the National Parks turned 100 this year? How crazy amazing that we even have these places of such unspoiled America to enjoy? So, I know what you are thinking… “oh boy, Jamie, another post about National Parks?” My answer is YES! Since it is officially National Parks Week in America, I need to share some major things about the parks that you may or may not know. Balancing at Yosemite National Park at 3 years old. Celebrate the National Park’s Birthday with FREE ENTRANCE! Evie’s hike to the waterfalls at Olympic National Park. August 25th-28th is actually FREE for anyone who wants to go. There’s actually a couple of free days for the NPS throughout the year but this weekend is special for the 2016 Centennial. The fee waiver includes entrance fees, commercial tour fees, and transportation entrance fees. Other fees such as reservation, camping, tours, concession […]

Today is a special day and definitely requires it’s own post. I was planning to write one especially for my hard-working and ever-loving mother, but it was made even more special early this morning. Today my sister, Jan (who had just celebrated her baby shower), had her first baby. My new niece, Coralie Ava, and mommy are doing well and resting. I can’t wait to meet her.

Who?

Thank you for joining me on Ever Winding Road.
I am a mother and wife with a love of design, the outdoors, traveling, and eating. I'm also a first time blogger and exploring a new creative outlet here on this blog, so it is a work in progress. My husband and I have made our way out west to Oakland, California after leaving Chicago, Illinois 8 years ago, but know the adventures never end...